The oft-suspended Yankee Steve Howe got a reprieve on November 12, 1992, when arbitrator George Nicolau ruled his latest suspension from major league baseball was too severe. The Bombers promptly re-signed him. Howe died in a one-car accident in May 2006. Continue reading →
On November 11, 2015, the Yankees traded utility player Jose Pirela to the San Diego Padres for righthander Ronald Herrera. Herrera pitched 24 games (all starts) in the upcoming season for AA Trenton and AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (just one game) to a 10-8 record. He appeared in two games for the Yankees in 2017, both in relief, taking one loss. In 14 minor league games, all starts, he went 0-1 with the Gulf Coast Yankees, 8-0 in Trenton, and posted no record in Scranton/Wilkes Barre in two games. Herrera was traded in November 2017 to the Ranngers for minor leaguer Reiver Sanmartin. Continue reading →
The Yankees and Rangers made a major trade on November 10, 1978. The Bombers sent Sparky Lyle, catcher Mike Heath, infielder Domingo Ramos, and pitchers Larry McCall and Dave Rajsich south and in return received pitchers Dave Righetti, Mike Griffin, and Paul Mirabella along with outfielders Juan Beniquez and Greg Jamison. In Sparky and Rags, the Yanks spent a former Cy Young Award winner for a future Rookie of the Year (which Righetti would cop in 1981). Continue reading →
On November 9, 1951, Yankee catcher Yogi Berra won his first of three MVP awards. Yogi had batted .294, with 27 home runs and 88 rbi’s, along with his great work behind the plate. (Note, you have this as yesterday too) Continue reading →
Back when there was only one Cy Young Award for both leagues, Yankee lefthander Whitey Ford defeated Warren Spahn of the Braves in the vote, with the results announced on November 8, 1961. “The Chairman of the Board” posted a 25-4 record with a 3.21 era in the recently completed season. Continue reading →
The Yanks engineered a great deal on November 7, 1997, a judgment we can make before we even know who the infamous “Player to Be Named Later” (PTBNL) was, although the plot just took another twist in the 2006 ALDS. Kenny Rogers made three starts for the Yanks in the 1996 playoffs and put the team in an early hole all three times. Jimmy Leyritz‘s homer off Mark Wohlers rescued the Yanks in Game Four of the World Series, but Kenny had to go. But not only was he sent to Oakland for a PTBNL, that no-name would become eventual 1998 World Series MVP Scott Brosius. Brosius wore no. 7 with the A’s, so the later-arriving Jason Giambi was forced to settle for 16; its parts add up to seven, as does his 25 in New York. The connection is that both Scott’s and Jason’s fathers were big fans of Mickey Mantle. Brosius’s stingy defense, classy demeanor, and ability to provide clutch offense was huge, and it culminated with the game-tying home run he hit in the bottom of the ninth of Game Five of the 2001 World Series. But the postscript, of course, is that Rogers had a part in sending the Yanks home in 2006. Continue reading →
Joe, Vince, and Dom DiMaggio played together for the first time on November 6, 1938, as they comprised the outfield in an all-star game for charity on the West Coast. Joe had started with the Yankees in 1936, Vince with the Boston Braves the year after, and Dom would make his major-league debut with the Red Sox in 1940. Continue reading →
When Derek Jeter became the full-time starter at shortstop for the Yankees in 1996, he became the first Pinstriped rookie to do so since Tom Tresh did it in 1962. And Jeter was selected unanimously as the American League 1996 Rookie of the Year on November 5, 1996. Continue reading →
It was a long time coming until I could feel a little better about the report on the big loss that follows this game in today’s history, but fans smiled a wide Yankee smile on November 4, 2009, the day the Yanks rode six rbi’s from Series MVP Hideki Matsui to Championship No. 27. Homering, singling and doubling for two runs each his first three times to the plate, the first two off Pedro Martinez, Matsui gave Andy Pettitte a big lead that held up despite a two-run homer by strikeout-prone Ryan Howard in the sixth. The pen held it from there, impressively on consecutive strike outs of Chase Utley, Howard, and Jason Werth, the first two by the superb southpaw Damaso Marte. The Werth whiff came via the masterful Mariano Rivera, who closed it out by getting the last five outs of the 7-3 Yankee win. Yankee World Series hero from 1998 and 2001 Scott Brosius threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and Kelli O’Hara and Mary J. Blige sang. Lots to sing about! Continue reading →
The bold move the Yanks pulled off on November 3, 1992, might stand as a cautionary tale for fans, such as myself, who don’t want to trade any young Yankee talent away today. I was stunned when I heard the Yanks had traded star outfielder Roberto Kelly, and in shock that it wasn’t at least in exchange for the always-in-short-supply commodity: pitching. That the arriving Paul O’Neill had been largely a platoon player added salt to my wounds. But Paul’s incredible performance in the Bronx, where he combined a strong right field arm, and 185 homers with 858 rbi’s over the following eight years, with a passion for the game unmatched in my lifetime, healed those wounds many times over. Continue reading →
